Life sciences conference to take place Friday in Indianapolis

The Kelley School of Business has teamed with key life science organizations to host a series of four conferences. For the second year in a row, business executives and students alike will have the chance to learn about the impact life sciences have on the business world today. \nThe third conference in the four-part series, titled “Biotech Discovery and Development Services – Follow the $$$,” will be held at 8 a.m. Friday in Indianapolis at the Embassy Suites Hotel at 110 W. Washington St. \nLarry Davidson, an IU professor of business economics, said the Kelley School of Business chose to get involved in this conference series for a number of reasons.\n“The idea is to support state efforts to improve Indiana as a place for life science companies,” said Davidson, who is also a liaison for health care and life science in the Kelley School. \nAlthough few students generally attend – about five to 10 each conference – Davidson said he thinks the event is still beneficial to students. \n“It is important to network and work well with the companies that hire our students,” he said.\nThe conference is sponsored by BioCrossroads and Baker & Daniels LLP. Comments from David Johnson, the president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads, and Dan Smith, the dean of the Kelley School of Business, will open the conference. The keynote address, presented by Dr. Steven M. Paul, executive vice president for science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories at Eli Lilly and Co., will follow the opening remarks. \nTwo panel discussions will conclude the conference. The first, titled “How Are Companies Fitting into the Model?”, will include four panelists: Jerry Arthur, president of Cook Pharmica; Dr. F. John Mills, chief executive officer of BioStorage Technologies; Dr. Alfonso J. Alanis, chairman and CEO of Anaclim LLC; and Alisa Wright, founder and CEO of BioConvergence LLC. The panel will be moderated by Dan Boeglin, a partner at Baker & Daniels LLP.\nThe second panel discussion, titled “What are the Gaps and Challenges?”, will highlight Dr. Michael Hanbury, CEO of DCL Laboratories; Fritz French, CEO of Marcadia Biotech; Claire DeSelle, CEO of CS-Keys; and Johnson, the president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads. This panel will be moderated by Pat Cross, leader of the Health and Life Sciences Practice at Baker & Daniels LLP.\nThe fourth and final conference in this year’s series will be held on May 16, and is titled “Life Sciences is a Capital Idea.”